


Hypoesthesia: A certain loss of sensation

by Kagemoto



Series: The Holofic Bucket [15]
Category: Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Angst, Lovecraftian Horror, Numbness, loss of bodily sensation, no betas, thematic crossover with hello charlotte
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29555394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kagemoto/pseuds/Kagemoto
Summary: At any moment, we could be lost; At any moment, we could shatter into pieces.
Series: The Holofic Bucket [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112159
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Hypoesthesia: A certain loss of sensation

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this https://twitter.com/640p_/status/1362841439114248192 by Jay @640p_ (check them out, they're wonderful) and by hello charlotte, specifically, certain themes from the second game.

It was a lazy afternoon, one like any other, where the wind seemed to dance with the sunlight, bathing the world in their gentle presence as the fluffy clouds rolled meanderingly through the sky above. 

Holding a warm mug of hot cocoa in her hands, Ninomae Ina'nis takes a gentle sip from her drink and lets out a sigh as she feels its warmth slide down her throat and settles into her stomach. 

Or at least, that's what Ina imagined it would have felt.

Because even as Ina gripped the steaming mug tightly in her hands, desperately trying to feel its surface scalding her skin, she could only feel the barest sting of what felt like a burning prickle upon her skin: one that dissipated quickly as soon as the feeling came.

And as Ina took another slow sip of her cocoa, letting her tongue hang out to prolong the sting of the heat, she flinches as an unseen hand suddenly places itself on her shoulder, almost biting her tongue in the process.

  
 ~~"Seems like you're having quite the difficulty there, Priestess..."~~ Ina hears her own voice whisper into her ear as she fights to calm her suddenly racing heart, ~~"Is all well?"~~

Taking a moment to compose herself, Ina breathes in deep before setting her mug down with a soft clink. "Not really," she admits honestly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke, "I don't really feel like myself today; I haven't been for a while now, to be honest..." 

Ina trails off at those words, choosing not to finish as she instead looks down pensively at her gloved hands, clenching and unclenching them rhythmically, trying to find some sensation to be felt in her actions, to make them feel like they were more than numb lumps of useless meat and bone.

A deep silence settles in the air as Ina continues trying to find sensation in her hand, examining them from front to back as if they were an unfamiliar being, before letting loose a tired sigh and throwing back her head, blankly looking at the ceiling's tiles with no thoughts running through her mind. 

~~"Priestess,"~~ the hand's owner calls suddenly, breaking the silence in the room with a single word, ~~"are you aware of how special you are?"~~

At this, Ina blinks questioningly as the unseen figure leans forward, putting itself right into her field of view and revealing themselves to be an exact mirror image of Ina, except for their poisonous yellow eyes, eyes that were akin to fractals that seemed to shift and pulse in time with Ina's every blink. 

"What...? What do you mean Ancient Ones?" Ina forces out as she broke eye contact with her double, tilting her head away to return her gaze to the ceiling, away from her double's unsettling eyes, "Special? What do you mean? I'm just a normal girl..."

~~"A normal girl wouldn't be a vessel for eldritch beings beyond their comprehension, Priestess,"~~ her mirror, the Ancient Ones, hums; as they slowly wrap their arms around Ina, nuzzling her hair as she stiffened in response at the sudden act of affection, ~~"and certainly, a normal girl would have physically wasted away or be driven insane from our being inside of them at this point...~~ ~~So no, Priestess, sadly, you are in no way a normal girl at all..."~~

~~"Unfortunately,"~~ the Ancient Ones sigh, resting their chin on top of Ina's forehead, ~~"even as special as you are, dear Priestess, you are not _perfect_."~~

"Perfect...?" Ina slowly parrots as she closes her eyes, enjoying the feeling of numb pressure on her forehead, "What do you mean, Ancient Ones? I'm pretty sure I'm containing you perfectly... I mean, nobody seems to be affected by your whispers, nobody other than myself, of course."

Ina hears the Ancient Ones giggle in response to her words, listening to the deep rumble that formed in their chest as they laughed, ~~"Oh Priestess,"~~ they purr, raising a hand to gently caress Ina's chin, ~~"No vessel is a perfect container, that laws of this universe dictate that something contained~~ ~~must always leak out in any way it can."~~

~~"Take that mug, for example."~~ Ina feels the Ancient Ones gesture, presumably pointing at the drink sitting on her table, ~~"It is a serviceable mug; It holds its liquid perfectly and without spill beyond outside intervention... And yet, even for how well it contains the liquid, _it cannot stop the liquid's heat from escaping_ , for the mug is still affected by the liquid inside it, absorbing some of its aspects into itself and leaking some of it into the world..."~~

~~"Well, that is the simplest way to put it,"~~ the Ancient ones hum, tapping at Ina's chin gently with their fingers, ~~"though only half that metaphor applies to you, dear Priestess..."~~

"...Huh?" Ina mutters at the Ancient One's words, opening her eyes as a cold chill runs down her spine; her mind understanding the words the Ancient ones spoke but could not comprehend their meaning, "What are you talking about?"

~~"..."~~

Ignoring Ina's question, the Ancient Ones closed their eyes, letting her words pass by unanswered and leaving Ina to stare up at her own serene face in silence as she turns the words spoken to her over and over in her mind, trying to comprehend their meaning.

And then suddenly, it clicks, causing Ina to lurch forward, slamming her hands hard on her table with a gasp as the full implication of the Ancient One's words hits her all at once.

~~"Ah, it seems like you finally understand, Priestess."~~ the Ancient Ones says idly, standing before Ina with their arms clasped behind them, having moved to stand across from her the moment Ina lurched forward, ~~"Do you understand the cause of your conundrum is now? "Where the root of your problem lies?"~~

Ina could only shiver fearfully in response, her composure thoroughly displaced from the weight of her realization; She raises one shaking hand to cover her face in shock and looks at her other hand with shaking eyes before slamming it down hard again on the table, flinching as she feels no pain accompanying her action.

"S-so this feeling of numbness that I've experienced for weeks now..." Ina stutters, looking at a serene Ancient Ones with fearful eyes, "It's all your fault?"

~~"Yes and no,"~~ the Ancient ones hum with a small frown as they tap a finger on their chin, ~~"It would be more accurate to say that our presence inside of you is the cause of all this. Like in our metaphor of the mug, our very presence has effects on your body, ones that are remarkably tame if you consider it. Normally, a human would physically unravel over the course of a few months if they were to become our vessel, if not kill themselves outright within a few weeks."~~

~~"But, as we've said, Priestess, you are a special person beyond measure, but you are not perfect; Indeed, what you are experiencing right now is unfortunate, but that's how it must be... For like a cracked vase full of water, your fragile body cannot handle containing a being akin to a god, Priestess."~~

Ina flinches at the Ancient one's words, paling at the grisly fates she could have experienced, shuddering and shaking as she wraps her arms around herself: the reality of her situation sinks deeper into her mind. 

"Is this going to be permanent?" she asks pleadingly, her voice begging for the answer to be otherwise, "Is this going to get worse? Am I going to be stuck like this forever? Please... Ancient Ones, tell me what's going to happen..."

At Ina's anguished questions, the Ancient Ones merely smile serenely in response, tilting their head coyly to the side, staring at Ina silently for a long moment before responding honestly, ~~"We do not know, Priestess, this experience is very new to us as well... We can only make conjectures as to what may happen."~~

"B-but-"

~~"That said,"~~ they continue, abruptly cutting off Ina's response, " ~~we do have one advice we wish to offer to you, dear Priestess... It would be wise for you to acclimate to your situation quickly, for we have our doubts that your situation will ever improve. After all, you're only human, Priestess... You are not meant to be a vessel for a god, not without suffering a severe consequence at least..."~~

~~"So I wish you, good luck Priestess... For you will assuredly need it."~~

With that, the Ancient Ones disappear, leaving Ina alone to stare tearfully into her half-empty mug, at a loss on what she should do.

And as Ina watches the cocoa before her begin to cool, she reaches out to take it, gulping it all down in a single swig, _not feeling anything at all._

**Author's Note:**

> And Scene!
> 
> There we go, a fic that I worked on slowly over the weekend. something that I think turned out great, despite the bump near the end.
> 
> Anyways, if any of you liked what you read, don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts in a comment below!
> 
> here is my Twitter for yall  
> https://twitter.com/_Kagemoto_
> 
> and I do once again suggest ya'll follow https://twitter.com/640p_ if ya'll haven't already
> 
> now I got to go plan the next fic, because this writing train only takes breaks on the weekends
> 
> PEACE!


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